Man gets probation in caged kids case

December 23, 2008 2:15:16 PM PST

A suburban father is convicted of child endangerment and sentenced to probation for caging his children inside a pickup truck.Ricardo Gonzalez was stopped at a gas station in Posen last July when a passerby spotted the girls, ages 2 and 5, inside a makeshift cage in the cab of the truck.

Gonzalez works as a scrap hauler.

Police say Gonzalez told them he had to restrain the girls because he did not have anyone to babysit while he worked.

Gonzalez will serve 18 months probation and must take parenting classes.